Xana's Fall
by zedd113
Summary: Odd's wife, Sam, is captured. Odd and his daughter must find the legendary Lyoko Warriors, the resistance to Xana's reign. Will Sam survive, or will Jess watch her mother die?


I have recently been informed that, in order to avoid a lawsuit, I should inform everyone that I do not own rights to Code Lyoko or any of it's affiliates. Let's see them sue me now. Hah.

Anyway, here is another story for your enjoyment. Thanks to all of you who gave reviews. They are greatly appreciated.

-NMH (Author)

* * *

**Chapter 1 – The Last Entry**

_Diary of Jeremie Belpois, Senior at Kadic High School, February 5, 2010._

_Today I will write my final diary entry in the hope that if anyone should find this they will know why they should fight Xana. I suppose I should start the story at the beginning, but the end is the important part. _

_Almost a week ago the supercomputer at the old factory was destroyed by the virus Xana. Just hours after that he attacked. Though the world fought fiercely, everything they had was not enough. On February 1 the world fell to Xana. _

_Since then my friends and I have been hiding in the ruins of the factory, planning our next move. We have been joined by a surprising number of allies, Sissy Delmas and Jim Morales among them. We have been very busy comforting the young ones who have seen their friends and loved ones slaughtered mercilessly before their eyes. _

_The only thing we all have in common is the desire to see Xana fall from power. Tomorrow we plan to go to New York City, in the former United States, The current province of Xanadu. New York is one of the few cities still standing free. We will go there and start the resistance. _

_I have the plans Franz Hopper used to build the Supercomputer, and I believe that I can recreate it better than before. Aelita will help me create weapons on the new Lyoko and we will fight with everything we have._

_Long live the Lyoko Warriors._

_Jeremie Belpois, EMC2_

**Chapter 2 – Sam****'s Capture**(A/N: 19 years after the final entry.)

Odd and Sam Bella sat on the couch in their living room, waiting for their daughter, Jess, to come down and start the argument again. She was desperate to fight Xana.

Odd thought that it was ironic that she already had the very thing she wanted.

She was already a member of the rebellion. At the time she was born Odd and Sam were still fighting for the Lyoko Warriors. Their last name had still been Della Robbia and they were still wild and free. But then Sam had become pregnant, so they changed their name and moved to a small town in Wisconsin. Odd got a job and a house for them, and Sam raised little Jess.

Now, fifteen years later, Jess still had no idea that her mother and father were founding members of the Lyoko Warriors. And now she was going to demand that she be allowed to go back to fight Xana.

_Speak of the devil, here she comes._ Odd thought as his daughter walked down the stairs. She sat down on the chair across from her parents and said, "I need to talk to you."

"We know." Odd and Sam said in unison.

"And I agree with you." Sam said, this time alone.

"You do?" Jess asked with a hopeful smile.

"She does, but I refuse to allow you to risk your life fighting the most powerful being on the planet. It will not happen." Odd said with a scowl. "Besides, no one even knows where the resistance is any more. When Xana took over New York the Lyoko Warriors were gone. How are you going to find them?"

Jess looked down, embarrassed. "I hadn't thought of that." She admitted.

Odd sighed. She looked just like her mother. With her dark brown skin and hair they could be sisters. And she was just as impulsive and stubborn. "Listen Jess, I promise to take you to them someday, but not today."

Jess got up to go upstairs and prepare her next argument. She knew her father had fought in the resistance when he was younger, why wouldn't he let her fight, too?

At that moment her world changed forever.

"OPEN UP!" Shouted a metallic voice outside their door. She looked at her parents in sudden terror. They looked at each other and whispered one word.

"Xana."

There was a crash and a large robot smashed through the door. Sam attacked the robot and Odd grabbed Jess, just like they had planed. Jess was terrified, she had never experienced anything like this before, but even through her terror she managed to feel amazed that her mother was able to hold her own against one of Xana's robots.

Her father pulled her out of the house and into the snowy night. They ran for what seemed like miles until they came to a grate in the sidewalk.

Odd pulled the grate from the icy sidewalk and jumped down into the dark sewer. Jess followed him and they started running again.

Eventually they came to a safe room that had been put there, just in case.

"Sleep darling." Odd said gently. "I have some calls to make."

Jess pretended to sleep, but there was no way she could really drift off after what had just happened. So she lay down and watched her father take out his cell phone and attach it to a special wire running down the wall.

He opened the phone and said, "Warrior authorization code Alpha Five." Jess had no idea what this meant, but she hoped that her father was calling the Lyoko Warriors for help.

"Hey Einstein." Odd said. Jess had to struggle to keep silent. Jeremie Belpois, or 'Einstein' to the resistance, was the only man alive who had ever equaled Xana in intelligence. He was the leader of the resistance and the only reason Xana was not all powerful. Jess wondered why her father had a direct line to the smartest human on the planet.

"How's Aelita?"

Now Jess was even more impressed. There were just as many stories about Jeremie's wife, Aelita Hopper, as there were about Einstein himself. She was the first person to ever go to Lyoko, the daughter of Franz Hopper, and the second smartest person in the world.

"Good, good. Listen, Jeremie, I know we haven't talked in a while, but we need some help. We were just attacked and need a safe haven. You still have the samples we sent you? So can you teleport us to… where are you, anyway? New York! I thought you left. Underground? Why? I suppose that sort of makes sense. Now don't start in on that techno-babble, Jeremie, you know I never could follow it, not when we were kids and not now."

That's when everything fell into place for Jess. The Lyoko Warriors had never left New York; they had moved underground and abandoned the city above. And her father had known Jeremie Belpois since childhood. The only Odd any of the stories mentioned was Odd Della Robbia, the most agile warrior, who had done things no one else had managed before or since. But when she put the pieces of his stories together, her father looked remarkably similar to the wanted posters for Odd Della Robbia, and he did have a direct phone line to the leader of the resistance.

"My father is Odd Della Robbia." Jess whispered in awe.

"Alright, Jeremie, We're ready for teleportation now. Don't worry about her, she's asleep, won't feel a thing."

Then the strangest thing happened. The room dissolved, only to be replaced by another just like it. She was still on the bed and her father was still standing with the phone to his ear, but she felt as if she had just moved thousands of miles.

Her father closed the phone without another word and walked over to the bed.

"Wake up, darling, we're here."

"Where are we?"

"New York City."

**Chapter 3 - Jeremie's Tale**

"New York! How did we get here?!"

Odd could tell that his daughter was shocked and needed to be calmed down. "An old friend of mine gave us a ride. You must have really been tired; you slept right through the trip." That was all technically the truth.

Odd sighed and said, "Jess, it's time I told you the whole truth. My name wasn't always Odd Bella. I took your mother's name when we were married."

"Why, dad?" Jess asked.

"It was safer than my old name. You see, I used to be Odd Della Robbia."

Jess was speechless. She had guessed that was who he was, but to hear him admit it was still a shock.

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you the truth before, but now you know. Fighting Xana is in your blood. We need your help, Jess, but we won't force you."

Jess started to say she wanted to help, but before she could say anything her father said, "Don't answer yet, Jess. I'm not asking you. I'm going to take you to the people who will ask for your help. You can give them your answer. Let's go."

Odd guided his daughter down the maze of tunnels the resistance had carved into the bedrock of the city. They went deeper and deeper into the ground, heading toward the room at the very bottom of the Lyoko Catacombs.

They came to a door at last. There was a female guard outside the door who seemed very surprised to see Odd.

"General Della Robbia, Welcome back."

Odd nodded toward the guard and walked through the door after submitting to an eye scan designed by Jeremie to detect if a person was being controlled by Xana. Odd passed and went through the door. They then scanned Jess and she followed her father.

Odd and Jess found themselves in a long hallway filled with a strange lights.

"What is it?" Jess asked, slightly nervous.

"Don't worry, it's an electromagnetic field. Xana can't get anywhere near this room."

Just then the door was opened in front of them by a pink haired woman that looked younger than she actually was.

"Get in here, Odd, everyone has missed you and we want to meet your daughter."

"I'm coming, Aelita. I see the years haven't taught you patience."

"You're one to talk."

Odd and Aelita laughed together over a joke Jess thought she must have missed, because she didn't see anything funny.

When they went into the room Odd went to stand with his friends of twenty years and Jess was suddenly looking at four of the greatest warriors in the world.

There was Ulrich Stern, the greatest warrior Lyoko had ever seen. He was wearing his trademark green shirt and blue jeans. He met Jess's eyes and she saw the pale scar that ran down the side of his face over his left eye. He nodded at her with a smile.

There was Yumi Ishiyama, Ulrich's wife and second in command of the Lyoko warriors. She had grown her hair out to hang midway down her back and was still wearing all black.

There was Aelita Hopper, daughter of Franz Hopper, co-creator of the new supercomputer, and wife of Jeremie 'Einstein' Belpois.

But Jess didn't see Jeremie anywhere. Odd noticed that Jeremie was absent and asked where he was.

"We'll take you to him now." Yumi said to Odd. "He wants to talk to both of you."

They started walking towards the door at the end of the room. Yumi and Aelita stayed next to the door they had entered through, but Ulrich accompanied Odd and Jess.

"Now before you see Jeremie there are some things you should know."

"Like what?" Odd asked Ulrich.

"Well, you see, Jeremie is… different than he was the last time you saw him."

"Different how? Einstein was still that same loveable nerd when I left. There's not a lot that could have changed him too much."

"About ten years ago Aelita was captured by Xana." Ulrich said quietly. "Xana tortured her and sent the video to Jeremie, by way of every screen in the city. It nearly broke him. He went into a sort of depression for about four hours." Ulrich fell silent.

"What happened? How did you rescue Aelita?" Odd asked, curious.

"We didn't." Ulrich said, "Jeremie did."

"No way!" Odd said in disbelief.

"Way. He came out of the lab, got some armor on, and single handedly took out a battalion of Xana's troops to rescue Aelita. Rumor has it he even dueled Xana himself. But whether he did or not… well, we just don't know. What we do know is that almost two days after he left, Jeremie came back with a bloody Aelita in his arms and tears running down his face. The moment Aelita regained consciousness Jeremie proposed to her. They were married as soon as she could walk on her own. That was ten years ago. Ever since, Jeremie has been an active commander. He's led a little less than three hundred attacks on Xana. So don't be surprised if he seems different."

They were outside the door now.

"You ready?" Ulrich asked.

"Take us in, old friend." Odd said.

Without another word Ulrich held open the door for them and they went in to see the legendary leader of the Lyoko Warriors.

**Chapter 4 – Einstein**

When Odd walked through the door he felt a strong sense of déjà vu. The room looked exactly like the computer room that used to be at the factory. Same computer, same holomap, and the same head of blond hair was sticking up from the same chair.

Then Jeremie spun the chair to face them and all resemblance vanished. He was clearly taller, and Odd had expected that, but the weak nerd he had known was gone.

In his place sat a muscular, blond man. He had a crescent shaped scar over the back of his left hand and one eye was probably bionic, judging by the gold pupil. There was a glint of gold on his left hand as well. On his finger was the ring that he had worn for ten years, since his marriage to Aelita. His hands were callused from holding a weapon, giving sharp contrast to the soft hands he used to have.

When Jeremie stood up Odd noticed that his cloths were also different. Instead of the nerd cloths he used to wear he was wearing hiking boots, blue jeans and an armored field jacket over a blue t-shirt. Odd also noticed the desert eagle handgun strapped to his belt, along with four clips of extra ammo.

"Odd!" Jeremie exclaimed when he saw them, "It's good to see you! How've you been? Never mind, you wouldn't be here if you weren't in trouble. Tell me everything."

Jeremie sat back and waited as Odd told the tale of their flight from the robot guard.

"Well that is a problem. I can see if Sam is still alive, at least" He turned to his computer and with a few swift keystrokes had a window up listing recent captures and executions. "She's alive, but won't be for long. If you want her back…"

"Of course we want her back!" Odd interrupted angrily.

"…then we're going to need help. We can't risk green operatives on this mission. We'll go ourselves, but we need two more warriors to make a full unit. You always were the best shot, Odd, and we really could use your help. Sam is being held on one of Xana's Replicas, so it'll be a Lyoko mission. What do you say, you in?"

"You know me, Jeremie. I'm always ready to shoot up some of Xana's monsters." Odd said with a big smile.

"Alright then." Jeremie said, also smiling, "If you will go with Theo he'll get you some armor that fits and Jess can go with Naomi to the…"

"Wait, Jess isn't going! There is no way I'm letting her come with us."

"Odd, we need her help. Xana has new tactics and we need as many people as possible in a fight."

"Then take one of your people. Jess is not going to Lyoko."

"Odd," Jeremie said quietly, "We're going to rescue her mother. Don't you think she has a right to be there?"

"Yes. She does. But that doesn't mean I have to like it." Odd admitted grudgingly.

"I'm going to help you rescue mom." Jess said; her eyes hard and determined. "She needs my help."

Jeremie looked at Odd, who nodded, and typed a few keys on his computer. Yumi walked through the door.

"Go with Yumi." Jeremie spoke to Jess directly for the first time. "She'll get you set up for your first jump to Lyoko."

Jess could only nod.

"Come on, Jess." Yumi said gently, and led her out the door and down another maze of tunnels to the armory.

**Chapter 5 – Odd's Preparation**

When the girls left Odd said, "How've you been, Jeremie? Ulrich told me what happened with Aelita."

"He told you about that, huh? I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Jeremie looked like he wanted to call Ulrich back in, but he restrained himself.

"You need to talk about it, Jeremie. Even I can see that." Odd said softly.

"I've already had the psyche treatment from Sissy; I don't need it from you, too." Jeremie said, suddenly defensive.

"I don't want to talk as a psyche, Jeremie. I want to talk as your friend. What happened to you?"

"I watched the girl I love tortured. I sat and listened to her scream my name. But the worst part was knowing that I was too weak to help her. She begged for death and I couldn't help her. Then the screaming stopped. I knew she wasn't dead, she was still breathing." Jeremie stopped for a moment to compose himself, and then continued.

"Xana's voice came on the screens and said that she would be tortured publicly until I came out of hiding and gave myself up. She heard him and begged me to let her die rather than give myself up. I don't remember much after that. Just flashes of memory. The next thing I knew, I was in the compound where Aelita was being held. I have absolutely no memory of how I got in there. I learned later that I had fought through a battalion of soldiers to reach the doors." Jeremie looked shaken. Odd supposed that to not remember slaughtering about forty robots could be pretty traumatic.

"Any way, I found myself inside the compound. I have never been more scared in my life. I was terrified, but Aelita needed me. I knew where she was and I knew she was probably being tortured, so I went and got her out." Jeremie looked at the ground with tears in his eyes.

"I'll never forget the things I saw when I opened the cell Aelita was in. All that blood… Aelita's blood… It was everywhere."

Jeremie finally gave in to tears and Odd stood and watched his friend suffer. There was nothing he could do for this kind of pain. All he could do was feel sorry for Jeremie, and that would not help him.

After a moment Jeremie looked up and wiped his eyes.

"A moment of weakness, to balance the strength I'm going to need." He said with the ghost of a smile. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that balance is important."

Odd and Jeremie walked together towards the men's armory.

They had a battle to prepare for.

**Chapter 6 – Jess's Preparation**

Jess followed Yumi through the maze of tunnels that made up the Lyoko Catacombs. Finally, after fifteen minutes of being completely lost, Jess had to ask.

"Why is this place so hard to get around in? It's all so confusing."

"That makes it harder for anyone to find us down here." Yumi explained, "These tunnels open into the old subway tunnels all around New York. The entrances are disguised, but people still wander in sometimes. The maze keeps people from finding us."

"But doesn't that get confusing to the resistance?" Jess asked?

"The main area underground is really simple. The maze is only around the main area and Jeremie's complex. Think of it as a sort of moat. Then there are the EMF's that Jeremie has set up everywhere." Yumi said as they passed through another hall full of glittering lights.

"EMF's?"

"Electro-magnetic fields. No technology can come through without Jeremie's personal approval."

"Wow." Jess said, impressed. "This place is a fortress."

"It has to be. If we're discovered we'll need time to get out."

"But what if someone came in without any technology. They could just walk right in!" Jess exclaimed.

"Don't worry." Yumi said, amused by Jess's reaction. "At any given moment Jeremie can see and hear everything that happens down here. He's been watching you this whole time."

"Isn't that kind of a creepy thought? That Jeremie has that much power over everything."

"Not really." Yumi said. "He doesn't abuse his power at all. He really is a great leader, even though he complains about everyone having too much faith in him, yadda yadda."

"Besides, he's earned every bit of his authority." Yumi continued, "He's saved all of our lives more times than I can count. He's the only reason there's still a resistance. Without him we would have fallen to Xana years ago.

"Ah, here we are." Yumi said as they stopped outside a large door cut into the rock.

When Jess saw what was behind the door she was shocked. There was every type of weapon available, many she recognized and many she didn't. There were guns of every size and description stacked against the wall.

Yumi, seeing what she was looking at, said, "All the guns have been modified to fire electrical charges. Completely non-lethal, but they'll put down just about anything. Same thing with the swords; effective, but harmless to humans."

Jess was impressed, and also relieved. She wanted to fight, but she didn't think she could kill anyone. She was glad she wouldn't have to.

"Let's get you some armor." Yumi said with a smile. They walked through a door in the wall and came to what looked like a big closet full of…

"…regular clothes? How are these going to help?" Jess asked, doubtful.

"They may look like normal cloths, but they're all made of Jeremie's special fabric. It'll absorb any electric shock, and it's bulletproof, too."

Jess took the purple shirt and pants without any more argument. When she was done changing Yumi looked her over.

"Are you comfortable? Can you move alright?" The black haired woman asked. "You really want to be able to move in battle, trust me." This got the desired response, and Jess laughed.

_She needs to loosen up a bit, she reminds me of…well, me when I was younger._ Yumi thought to herself._ I was always so serious all the time._

"These are fine." Jess said. "Actually, these are really comfortable."

"You sound surprised." Yumi said with a laugh.

"Well… yeah. When I herd 'armor' I didn't expect a silk suit."

"As if these compared to a silk suit." Yumi said, still laughing.

"True. These are comfortable, but not_ that_ comfortable." Jess admitted, also laughing. However the laughs turned to sobs as she remembered what these cloths were designed for. Yumi had been expecting this ever since she had learned that the girl was coming with them.

She knelt down next to Jess and put her arm around the girl.

"It'll be ok." She said gently. "It's normal to be afraid before your first battle."

Jess was comforted in spite of herself, and she wondered how many people Yumi had comforted this way just before they went into battle, some of them never to return.

_Some things are worth dying for._ She decided as Yumi continued to comfort her.

"Are you better?" Yumi asked, seeing that the girl had stopped crying.

"No." Jess said, honestly.

"Good. I'd only be worried if you were." Yumi said with a grin. Jess laughed.

"Well, if you can laugh you can't be too upset." Yumi said, "Do you have any weaponry experience at all?"  
"My father taught me how to shoot when I was six, does that count?"

"That's perfect. Leave it to Odd to teach a little girl how to shoot. But I suppose he did have a good reason." Yumi said as she led the way back to the weapons room. She rummaged through the pile of handguns and pulled out a medium sized semiautomatic.

"How's this?" Yumi asked.

"Fine." Jess answered while hefting the weapon. And it was. It was remarkably similar to the weapon she had learned with.

"What kind of holster do you prefer?" Yumi asked, walking over to a rack full of ammo and taking down eight clips; four for her, four for Jess.

"I always use a belt holster at home, but I'll take whatever you can spare."

"We keep a fairly large stock on hand." Yumi said while handing Jess a belt holster and the extra ammo. "We never know when we'll need them."

Jess put the holster on and clipped the ammo to her belt.

"You ready?" Yumi asked.

Jess didn't trust herself to speak, so she just nodded.

"Then let's go." Yumi opened the door and went through.

Jess took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and followed Yumi.

"Bring it."

**Chapter 7 – Combat Practice**

When Yumi and Jess arrived back at Jeremie's complex they found Jeremie, Aelita, Odd, and Ulrich there waiting for them. Jess noticed that the only ones wearing a weapon were her and Jeremie and asked why.

"These four are the only ones with a preset Lyoko form." Jeremie said, indicating the four oldest Lyoko Warriors. "The supercomputer puts you in Lyoko as you are, except for any injuries that you have. The first aid program will repair any physical damage on the entrance trip. However they went to Lyoko before the original supercomputer was destroyed so they will already have their weapons on Lyoko."

"So," Jeremie said, "should I give you any powers, or can you get along without them like Odd."

"I don't think I'll need them." Jess said with a smile.

"That's my girl!" Odd shouted, overjoyed.

"Come on, guys." Jeremie said. "Let's get going."

Jeremie led the way out of the room and down yet another complex sequence of passages.

They made a strange sight. Five Warriors and one warrior to be, walking down a passageway five miles underground to combat a psychotic virus that was the ruler of the planet.

"We'll be going to the training area first to get Jess ready for combat. Odd, it wouldn't hurt you to hone your skills, too. You've been out of the game for a long time."

Jeremie opened the door to the scanner room and they all entered. The scanners were very different than they used to be. Instead of pillars of metal there were circles of light on the floor. In the dark room it looked exactly like pillars of light shining down from the ceiling.

"It's beautiful." Jess whispered, staring at the nine pillars of light in the darkness.

Jeremie heard her. "Yes, it is." He said. "But never forget that it's dangerous, too."

Jess nodded, and Jeremie said to the others, "Everybody jump right in."

Saying this, Jeremie walked into one of the pillars and disappeared in a flash of light.

"He sped up the process considerably, didn't he?" Odd said, impressed. The last time he had been virtualized he'd still had to use the metal scanners.

"The faster the better as far as the resistance is concerned." Yumi said. "Speed can save your life, as you know very well, Oh amazing Odd." Yumi was laughing on the last part.

Jess looked from her father to Yumi, confused by the exchange.

Her father, seeing this, explained, "Back when I was younger I had a real problem with humility. I still thought I couldn't be beaten. She never has let me live it down." Odd said with a look at Yumi.

"And I never will, either." Yumi said with a smile.

"Come on, you three" Ulrich said as he and Aelita walked into the scanners and disappeared.

"Shall we?" Yumi asked Odd.

"After you." Odd said cheerfully.

She smiled and they walked into the scanners.

In a flash of light they were deposited in Lyoko. All around them members of the Lyoko Warriors practiced combat.

"I've got my personal testing ground set up to test your skills, Jess." Jeremie said, leading the way towards a high wall running into the distance.

When they were inside the wall Jess was sent forward alone.

"The tests are pretty simple." Jeremie explained, "I call up versions of Monsters you will be likely to encounter on the missions. All you have to do is destroy them. That's it."

"Sounds easy enough." Jess said, determined.

"Don't underestimate your opponent." Jeremie said, "Battle tactics 101"

"Lyoko code J-M-1." Jeremie said to the sky.

"Voice activated." Yumi muttered, seeing Jess's bewildered look.

About ten feet away a kanckrelot appeared on the ground. It looked exactly the same as Xana's version except for the symbol on its head. Instead of the eye of Xana it had a circle around a plus sign, the symbol of the Lyoko Warriors.

Jess pulled her weapon and made short work of the bug. Jeremie then called the next monster.

Jess worked her way up the list of monsters, each one a better fighter than the last. She was able to defeat all of them except the scipozoa. But very few had ever succeeded in killing one of those, so there was no problem.

"You've done a fantastic job teaching her, Odd. She moves just like you." Jeremie congratulated Odd as Jess walked back to them.

"We think you're ready." Odd said to Jess.

"I know I am."

**Chapter 8 – Battle**

As he stood overlooking the battle below, Jeremie allowed himself to hope for the first time since the formulation of his plans.

When he had first seen Jess it had seemed as if Sam had walked in exactly as she had been in school. It was perfect. If Xana saw her he would be confused, if only for moments. Those moments would be the perfect opportunity to destroy Xana forever.

That was why Jeremie was not participating in the battle below. He was waiting for an opportunity to hurl everything he had at Xana as soon as Jess distracted him.

There was only one fault in his plan. If Xana never saw Jess, or if he had learned of her elsewhere, then the distraction would be useless.

Jeremie had done the only thing he could think of to make sure Jess fought Xana.

He had forbidden her from fighting Xana.

It sounded like a paradox but, Jeremie knew that Jess was very like Odd, and that, like Odd, she would disobey his orders in order to save Sam.

Jeremie didn't like manipulating her like that but the alternative was worse.

Jeremie watched his friends fight monsters, and he watched Jess make her way toward Xana.

_Here it comes._ Jeremie thought as he gathered every shred of his power_. I've got to be ready._

Jess was so close to Xana she could have touched him. But she never got the chance. Xana turned and saw Jess. And as Jeremie felt Xana's shield falter for just a moment he released the energy he had gathered. Jeremie felt Xana's defenses, already weakened by Jess's distraction, shatter under the weight of Jeremie's power.

Connected by the supercomputer, Jeremie could feel the energy he had used flow down the connections, all the way to whatever computer Xana was hiding in. The power overloaded Xana's circuts and, before he could recover his wits and escape, Xana was destroyed.

_Finally, _Jeremie thought in relief as darkness clouded his vision. _It's over._

**Chapter 9 - Afterwards**

Jess couldn't understand what had happened. One moment she had been closing in on Xana, the next moment Xana and all his monsters were gone and the Lyoko Warriors were cheering. She ran over to Yumi, who was standing in a puddle of oil.

"Where is he?" Jess demanded angrily.

"Who?" Yumi asked, a big smile on her face.

"Xana! Where is he?" Jess couldn't understand why no one seemed to be concerned about Xana.

"He's gone!" Yumi yelled triumphantly. "Jeremie did it! I never thought he could, but he did it! We've won!"

Yumi ran off with a joyful laugh to help the others look for Jeremie. Jess was shocked, but thrilled at the same time.

"I hope this dosen't go straight to his head." Jess turned to see who had spoken and saw Odd with Sam leaning on his arm. It was Sam who had spoken.

"I don't think it will." Odd said to his wife. "Jeremie isn't the kind of guy to get a big head."

"Even if he does ge a big head, Aelita will deflate it for him." Sam added.

Odd was about to say something else when a keening scream echoed over the noise of cheering. The battleground went silent almost instantly as everyone started running towards a tall hill overlooking the area.

"That's Aelita." Sam said, almost dragging her husband up the hill.

When they were about halfway up the hill they had to start fighting the croud of people to reach the top, and what they say when they got there was worse.

Jeremie was on the ground, surrounded my medical officers. Aelita wasa short distance away, sobbing on Yumi's sholder.

Jess was confused. "I thought that you were devirtualized when you were hurt on Lyoko."

"You are." One or the medics said. "We've never seen anything like this. It's as if he has absolutely ho energy left."

"That's because I don't." Jeremie's voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. "I used everything I had on Xana, but it wasn't enough. So I seperated my mind from my virtual body to get enough power to destroy Xana. Sort of like splitting an atom to get neuclear power, except I was the atom."

"Jeremie, never scare me like that again. I thougnt you were dead." Aelita said with tears still on her face.

"I kind of am." Jeremie said, laughter coloring his voice. "At least until I get back into my body."

"Then get back here so I can either kiss you or strangle you, I haven't decided wich one I like better.

"Alright, stand back." Jeremie said.

There was a rumble, and a cloud of light seemed to flow into Jeremie. His eyes fluttered open and he stood up and kissed Aelita passionately.

"Do you still want to strangle me?" Jeremie asked?

"Of corse not." Aelita said, then she kissed him back.

"Hey, Jeremie. How do you like Jess?" Aelita asked suddenly.

"I like her fine. Why?"

"Do you promise not to get mad?"

"I promise, Aelita. Whats going on?" Jeremie asked, suddenly concerned.

"Jeremie, I'm...I'm pregnant." Aelita braced herself for his outburst, but to her suprise it never came. Instead Jeremie pulled her into his embrace and said joyfully,

"Aelita thats wonderful!" He kissed her, she kissed back, and they just kept right on kissing.

When they broke off Odd asked, "What now."

"Now I go home and catch up on the sleep I've missed for the past twenty years or so. I have a feeling I'm going to need it. You're welcome to stay with us. We've missed you. And we're going to be needing a baby sitter." Jeremie glanced at Jess.

"Ya know what?" Odd said with a smile at his daughter's hopeful look, "I've missed you guys, too."

Jeremie put a hand on Odd's sholder.

"Welcome back."

* * *

Hah. Done. _Finally. _This story took forever.

As always, reviews are welcome. My next story is going to be a songfic, so it shouldnt take too long.

Until next time, dear reader.

-NMH


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